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The International Association of Fire Fighters is training its HazMat instructors as drone pilots, backed by the largest grant in the union's history — an $8 million NIEHS award. The five-year goal: put a Parrot ANAFI UKR into contaminated scenes before a single firefighter walks downrange.
DJI Enterprise published a Drone as First Responder scaling guide on August 4, one day after the FCC's proposal to prohibit imports and sales of foreign-made drone docking stations hit the Federal Register. The playbook's flagship American case study, El Paso, is already applying for federal money to replace its DJI fleet.
Skydio and CentralSquare announced a partnership on August 3 that builds Drone as First Responder operations natively into CentralSquare's computer-aided dispatch software, moving the drone launch button onto the screen every 911 dispatcher already watches.
DJI's first Mini-tier mic with 32-bit float internal recording went global on August 4, 2026, with product pages for Canada, the UK and the EU. The United States got none of them. DJI's own comparison chart also shows the 2S trading battery life for that storage chip.
Amazon switched on Prime Air drone deliveries in Papillion, Nebraska, its 11th US market, flying packages under 5 pounds for $2.99 per Prime delivery — while Walmart's store map still defines the race.
DJI's Mimo v2.11.2 gives the Osmo Pocket 4P automatic file transfer, silently sending photos and videos to your phone the moment you power the camera off — plus 4K Live Photos and shareable editing presets.
I've been flying drones for over 8 years, reviewed dozens of them, and made my share of mistakes. Here are the 11 things I wish someone had told me before my first flight.
DOT chief of staff Pete Meachum says the BVLOS rule was slowed deliberately to avoid technology lock-in. Zipline CEO Keller Rinaudo Cliffton warns the uncertainty freezes drone investment. Part 108 is six months past its deadline and under White House review.
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